Fire and Wind
by Ony
Summary: Naruto's struggle to save Sasuke from the personal aftermath of being an avenger, to elude and defeat Akatsuki, and to protect the village that has finally acknowledged him. Dark, angst-y, introspective, SasuNaru, NaruSasu, yaoi.


**Summary, Author's Notes, Warnings**

This is a story about Naruto's struggle to save Sasuke from the personal aftermath of being an avenger, defeat Akatsuki, and protect the village that has finally acknowledged him. This story splits off from canon after Sasuke kills Orochimaru, but doesn't begin until a while after that. Some parts of the canon that have come out since then will/are also included. The conclusion of this story is intended, such as a fan fiction can be, as a conclusion of the Naruto story.

I warn that this is a dark and angst-y story, introspective and personal (to the characters). It also contains yaoi; it is about a relationship between Sasuke and Naruto. Mostly SasuNaru, some NaruSasu. Expect no explicit sexual content here because it's not allowed and, while lots of people do it, I'd rather not (at least for the time being). Explicit versions will exist for some chapters - when that applies, I'll mention it - and they will be found on AFF.

I have a full outline of this story done, and parts of upcoming chapters written. I've been finding, despite knowing exactly where I'm going with this and how I want to get there, that I'm having some writers-block type issues; on the encouragement of my beta reader, I'm posting this prologue and hoping that I'll get some response that will help me get going. Regardless, I will finish it.

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**Fire and Wind**

**Prologue**

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_He has been searching relentlessly. For how long, he doesn't know. He is on his own. His team, his sensei, his mentor, his friends - he is working without them. They do not have his stamina. Their bond with the missing-nin is not as strong. Their need is not so keen. Even she does not search now, but he does. He must._

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Three identical blond-haired men landed silently in a small, dark clearing in a forest devoid of animals. The men conversed for a moment, and then two of them disappeared in puffs of smoke. The real one leapt back into the canopy, and was gone.

-

Two nearly identical raven-haired men stood silently in a large clearing in the same forest. They were the reason the animals had fled. The air around them was thick with tension. The ground and surrounding trees were disturbed, some places scorched, others scattered with drops of blood, others stuck with shuriken and kunai. Everything showed signs of battle. The two men were formidable opponents. They were each covered with shallow scratches, dirt, and debris. Their clothing was torn and singed. The tall man's cloak lay discarded at the foot of a tree. The shorter man's white shirt had been shrugged off and tossed aside. This battle had raged, and though the fight lulled for a moment, it was not yet over. Each man had killer intent.

Lightning flashed, the sound of a crackle like a thousand birds chirping replaced the silence in the clearing, and the taller man barely dodged his brother's attack. He tumbled out of the way, red eyes swirling, and tossed three kunai at targets he cannot possibly have seen, but did. The shorter man, with the same red eyes, was not hit.

-

Naruto was practically flying through the trees, sprinting towards the brothers' battle. He caught a glimpse of the Chidori through the branches and heard the thunks of the kunai hitting tree trunks around the clearing. He had finally found his missing-nin! The racing of his heart had nothing to do with his sprint, and neither did his breathlessness. When he was close enough to see, he halted. Squatting on a branch, unseen in the leaves, he watched.

"You are still weak, Sasuke," the tall man taunted.

"Shut up, Itachi," the shorter man spit back.

On opposite sides of the clearing, the two men faced away from each other. Too fast for normal eyes to see, they whipped around, red eyes shifting, changing, and finally meeting. They spoke no words, for none are needed to draw a target into the world of Tsykuyomi.

From his vantage point, Naruto could not tell which of the Uchiha brothers was in control, and which was trapped in the other's genjutsu. He did not have to watch long for signs of a victor, although he knew the encounter was taking much longer for the two involved. Soon, Sasuke was sweating, his breath ragged, his face tortured. Itachi was calm, as though he could simply have been mediating. Naruto's blood boiled, his fists clenched. He wanted to tear the tall man to shreds, but he knew that this was one fight Sasuke must do alone. Still, he growled low in his throat.

The muscles in Sasuke's arms flexed. Itachi's concentration faltered. Sasuke began to recover. A sharp "Kai!" broke the trance and freed him. Faster than Naruto could see, Sasuke slid his katana from its sheath and into Itachi's chest. With a whispered jutsu, he sent the current of his Chidori through the blade, paralyzing Itachi. For a moment, all was still. Itachi's eyes were wide, Sasuke's were narrowed. Blood oozed along the metal and dripped onto the dirt at their feet. Sasuke twisted the sword and Itachi coughed.

"So you do hate me, little brother."

"Of course," Sasuke replied, his tone even and clear. "You murdered our clan, our family. You took all that I had." With a jerk, Sasuke pulled the blade free and dropped it to the ground. He moved forward, his eyes, back to their normal, depthless black, meeting his brother's. "I have lived for this. I have lived on my hatred of you. I have lived to become stronger than you. I have lived to kill you."

Itachi coughed again, and fell to one knee. Sasuke glared down at him. "I have surpassed you, now, big brother. I have won."

Falling backwards, Itachi laid on the ground, blood pooling around him. "Foolish little brother," he whispered, and then laughed. The sound was surreal, gurgling, blood-filled, echoingly gleeful, and choked. "Foolish little brother. You have killed me, yes, but you will see: I have won."

Sasuke said nothing. He watched as Itachi's eyes unfocused, as his hands fell limply at his sides, as his chest stopped rising with breath. Eventually, Sasuke turned away from the body. Then he, too, fell to the ground, on hands and knees. He retched and gagged. After he stopped heaving, he crawled to the base of a tree, sat down, and leaned back against it. He stared up at nothing.

Naruto dropped out of the canopy and walked slowly to Sasuke's side, where he sat, too. In the quiet that reigned after the noise of the fight, Naruto could make out the sounds of a small river somewhere nearby. He listened to the bubbling water and waited. After a long time, Sasuke looked at him. Black eyes and blue met without hostility for the first time in many years.

"I have to bury him," Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded.

-

They worked together in silence for an hour, digging the grave at one edge of the clearing. Once it was ready, Sasuke moved over and crouched beside his dead brother's body with a kunai. Carefully, he carved out its eyes. Then he lifted the corpse and carried it to the hole. Together, they lowered it in. Covering the body and filling in the grave didn't take as long as digging it had.

When they were finished, they sat again, side by side on the other edge of the clearing. Sasuke's breath hitched. He tried to cover it, and coughed until there were tears in his eyes. One slipped down his cheek, and his breath hitched again, and he began to cry. Naruto put his arm around his no-longer-lost friend and held him. They remained like that until the sun had set, twilight had faded, and it was dark everywhere. Animals crept back into the area. In the comfort of Naruto's embrace, Sasuke's crying eventually stopped, but neither stirred. Their exhaustion was overwhelming. Years of work, searching and training, had come to an end.


End file.
